2009-06-27 The Rain Is Finally Done

We've had quite the wet month here in Loafer Canyon. A weather station up on the hill has recorded 3.3 inches of rain in June, which is well above average. I have only had to water the garden by hand once or twice since the middle of May. The same station recorded 1.21 inches two years ago and ZERO last year for June. Of course, all the rain means the weeds have had their way. I need to get out there with some Roundup as soon as they dry out.

Of course, the cool wet weather has been great for crops like peas, lettuce, broccoli, etc. I harvested all but one head of broccoli over the last two weeks, and will replant those squares with something else.





The cauliflower is finally heading up. I'm not sure how big it will get before starting to flower, so I'll have to watch it closely.



The pumpkins have been flowering, but apparently only one or two have been fertilized because most of the little pumpkins are shriveling up. The cayenne, jalapeno and bell peppers have been blossoming as well, and we have tomatoes on all the varieties but the Soldacki, which seems to set fruit really late for some reason. Probably won't do those again. I started a couple of mini-boxes with lettuce, spinach, radishes, onions and carrots. I'll planning to put those on the north side of the house when it gets hot and I'm hoping to keep them going through the winter.

2009-06-16 First Broccoli and Zucchini!

Four-and-a-half months after planting, I cut the first head of broccoli today! It was unlike any of the garbage the supermarkets have, a deep green color, and very tender after just a couple of minutes of steaming.



I'm amazed at how big the plants are. Here's Xander standing next to them:



I also took the first zucchini and hope to get peas pretty soon. The peas are just reaching the top of the trellis and the first pods appeared late last week.



Not much to write about. It has been raining often enough that I have only watered once or twice in the last month. Unfortunately, that means the weeds have been getting plenty of water, too. The nice thing about growing this way is that there isn't much to do once the boxes are put together, just a little weeding and watering. Go garden!